Easiest brakes to maintain??

[Preston Orrick]

I have a Hybrid bike and have running V-Brakes for a while now. I've always seemed to have issues after taking the wheels off and it takes forever to fix the brakes.

My question is what are the absolute easiest brakes to maintain for a newbie cyclist?

 

[oldbobcat]

Originally Posted by Preston Orrick

My question is what are the absolute easiest brakes to maintain for a newbie cyclist?

The brakes that are already on your bike.

Removing and replacing your wheels should not be a problem (a) if you remember to release the end of the noodle (that alloy L-bend tube at the end of the cable) from the harness on the caliper, when you remove the wheel, (b) make sure the wheel is inserted straight in the dropouts when it is replaced, and (c) remember to re-clip the noodle to the harness. If the brakes are properly adjusted in the first place, then any subsequent brake misalignment simply indicates that the wheel hasn't been installed straight. In other words, straighten the wheel, don't try to readjust the brakes to accommodate the misaligned wheel.

The same applies to disc brakes except you don't have to loosen the cable at the noodle. On the other hand, if you bend a rotor trying to reattach the wheel, you're looking at bigger problems.

 

[dabac]

Drum brakes do make the wheel a bit more difficult to remove, but they are probably the brake type that can go the longest w/o, or with the most marginal amount of maintenance. But reconfiguring a rim brake bike to drum brakes takes a fair amount of work and investment. And, depending on frame/fork, may not be doable.

 

[CAMPYBOB]

IMO a good pair of sidepulls is easy to set up, adjust and maintain. Cheap sidepulls...royal pain.

Good centerpull brakes and even medium quality ones might be the easiest brakes I've used to set up properly and keep their adjustment. They seem to have been sacrificed to the gods of weight and I have not seen a pair on a new bike in years. I wonder if the touring crowd still uses them?

Even my cycling savvy friend has trouble keeping his V-brakes from squealing, chattering and working uniformly. Another has constant problems with his cantilever brakes on his 'cross bike. Maybe model-specific problems?

 

[oldbobcat]

Originally Posted by CAMPYBOB
Even my cycling savvy friend has trouble keeping his V-brakes from squealing, chattering and working uniformly. Another has constant problems with his cantilever brakes on his 'cross bike. Maybe model-specific problems?

Sorry for my unoriginal advice. I was reading "hybrid bike," "newbie rider," and "have issues after taking the wheels off" from the original post.

I'm not crazy about linear pulls, either, but dealing with them beats the alternatives.There are a few tricks to getting the pads lined up and toed, but this applies to most cantilevers and centerpulls, too. And when you start talking about conversion, you get into lever pull compatibility, new shifters if the levers are integrated, brake bolt holes, boss location, caliper reach, wheel size, tire size, traverse cables, cable stop hangers, new wheels, etc., etc.

So why hasn't your savvy friend converted his brakes yet?

 

[CAMPYBOB]

He keeps buying new bikes! A far better solution IMO. He must own stock in Specialized...road bikes...cross bikes...a pair of nice mountain bikes. He did swap all the SRAM on his new disc cross bike for shimaNO, but the dealer did that IIRC. No problems with his discs so far (mechanicals) and he really likes them.

I think some of the squealing on the one bike could be tuned out. There's no way in Hell I could put up with the noise.

Agreed, conversions and upgrades are...'complicated' these days. It's often not as simple as bolting on a new type of caliper and the new integrated style brakes will really lock a user into a box. I think any style brake of medium or high quality can be tuned to function near perfectly given a little time and access to the required tools. And most brakes will respond to centering/adjustment issues if properly installed.

 

[oldbobcat]

Originally Posted by CAMPYBOB
He keeps buying new bikes! A far better solution IMO. He must own stock in Specialized...road bikes...cross bikes...a pair of nice mountain bikes. He did swap all the SRAM on his new disc cross bike for shimaNO, but the dealer did that IIRC. No problems with his discs so far (mechanicals) and he really likes them.

I think some of the squealing on the one bike could be tuned out. There's no way in Hell I could put up with the noise.

Agreed, conversions and upgrades are...'complicated' these days. It's often not as simple as bolting on a new type of caliper and the new integrated style brakes will really lock a user into a box. I think any style brake of medium or high quality can be tuned to function near perfectly given a little time and access to the required tools. And most brakes will respond to centering/adjustment issues if properly installed.

I see. One of those guys.

Probably 80 percent of the bikes I work on day in and day out have linear pull brakes, and the last do-over was too long ago for me to remember.

After working on this many, and working on so many other kinds of brakes, it's easy to see why they've become so ubiquitous. No hangers or traverse cables. Few clearance issues with tires or fenders. Easily resolved clearance issues with racks. Easy to align. Easy to center. Reasonably powerful and easy to modulate.

That last note reminds me of when I lent my wife's 7.2FX to our daughter's boyfriend. At the bottom of the hill, expecting the usual lousy brakes, he grabbed two fistfuls of lever, resulting in a somersault over the front wheel. We spent the rest of the afternoon in urgent care waiting for a doctor to stitch up his chin.

 

[CAMPYBOB]

Quote by OBC:
"One of those guys."

Not really. Sorry if I gave that impression. He's quite capable of replacing his BB's, headsets, etc. and invests in some pretty nice equipment. He trains like a beast, doing 108 miles last Sunday over wet and gritty roads while waiting for me to get on the road and ride with him. It's just that...well, he can put up with things that would drive a Campy man to suicide or at least to the tool box before the next ride.


"Reasonably powerful and easy to modulate."

"he grabbed two fistfuls of lever, resulting in a somersault over the front wheel. We spent the rest of the afternoon in urgent care waiting for a doctor to stitch up his chin."

You should have given him a lesson in modulation! Going to the ER sucks and I hope he's OK after the face plant.

 

[alfeng]

Probably 80 percent of the bikes I work on day in and day out have linear pull brakes, and the last do-over was too long ago for me to remember. After working on this many, and working on so many other kinds of brakes, it's easy to see why they've become so ubiquitous. No hangers or traverse cables. Few clearance issues with tires or fenders. Easily resolved clearance issues with racks. Easy to align. Easy to center. Reasonably powerful and easy to modulate. That last note reminds me of when I lent my wife's 7.2FX to our daughter's boyfriend. At the bottom of the hill, expecting the usual lousy brakes, he grabbed two fistfuls of lever, resulting in a somersault over the front wheel. We spent the rest of the afternoon in urgent care waiting for a doctor to stitch up his chin.

Okay ...

• I'm an inquiring mind ... And, I don't want to blame the victim ([color=ff0000]yet![/color]) for poor bike handling skills because I have certainly done stupid things while riding on a bike ...

How close-or-far do YOU offset the brake pads from the rims on the bikes which you set up?

 

[oldbobcat]

Originally Posted by alfeng


Okay ...

• I'm an inquiring mind ...
  
  And, I don't want to blame the victim ([COLOR=ff0000]yet![/COLOR]) for poor bike handling skills because I have certainly done stupid things while riding on a bike ...
  
  
  
  

How close-or-far do YOU offset the brake pads from the rims on the bikes which you set up?

No, you shouldn't blame the victim. He didn't know. He was probably used to bikes purchased in big box stores. Maybe you should blame me, as I hadn't warned him, but I'd forgotten how bad brakes can be on junky bikes. And I only related this to illustrate that linear pull brakes can be adjusted to work superbly in the hands of a perceptive modulator.

As to your question, I don't know how close the pads were set on this bike. This margin is not helpful, as it does not address the size of the riders hands or the strength of his or her grip when applying the brakes. Since my wife's hands are not large, they are set so than on a firm squeeze the levers are about parallel to the bar grips. Also, the "modulation spring" in the noodle of the front brake (common on Trek hybrid bikes) was removed. While my wife finds this helpful, our daughter's friend obviously did not.

So have you found someone to blame yet?

 

[oldbobcat]

Originally Posted by CAMPYBOB
Quote by OBC:
"One of those guys."

Not really. Sorry if I gave that impression. He's quite capable of replacing his BB's, headsets, etc. and invests in some pretty nice equipment. He trains like a beast, doing 108 miles last Sunday over wet and gritty roads while waiting for me to get on the road and ride with him. It's just that...well, he can put up with things that would drive a Campy man to suicide or at least to the tool box before the next ride.


"Reasonably powerful and easy to modulate."

"he grabbed two fistfuls of lever, resulting in a somersault over the front wheel. We spent the rest of the afternoon in urgent care waiting for a doctor to stitch up his chin."

You should have given him a lesson in modulation! Going to the ER sucks and I hope he's OK after the face plant.

Didn't mean to disparage your friend. It's just that those of us who absolutely need to use a certain type of equipment figure out a way to make it work, and do our best to spread the knowledge around. In my position I can't recommend a new bike or a drum or disc brake conversion to every customer who was having a problem with linear pull brakes.

As for the boyfriend, that was quit a few years ago. He was on his feet even before I turned around to see what happened. The accident was a bonding experience for the two of use, he and our daughter have moved on to other romantic interests, they remain friends on facebook, and he has a tiny scar on his chin about which he has an opportunity to tell stories.

 

[CAMPYBOB]

...and chicks dig scars!

Yes, there are many folks that can't just plunk down money for new brakes. Even if some riders can upgrade, they can not justify the expense. Especially on a $200-$500 bicycle that's a few years old. You are correct with the position that almost any decent brake of any type can be setup to put a rider over the bars.

Well...all, perhaps, with the exception of the Campagnolo single-pivot rear sidepull brake! Going all Fred Flintstone Style would work better.

With all the videos, maintenance 'how to's' and cycling forums available a rider with the desire and a little mechanical aptitude should be able to get any brake set up properly.


Quote by OBC:
"So have you found someone to blame yet?"

I blame Obama!

 

[alfeng]

So have you found someone to blame yet?

I blame Obama!

Benito is probably the correct Indvidual on whom the blame should fall because he needs to stand up and be accountable for something!

 

[oldbobcat]

Originally Posted by CAMPYBOB
...and chicks dig scars!

Yes, there are many folks that can't just plunk down money for new brakes. Even if some riders can upgrade, they can not justify the expense. Especially on a $200-$500 bicycle that's a few years old. You are correct with the position that almost any decent brake of any type can be setup to put a rider over the bars.

Well...all, perhaps, with the exception of the Campagnolo single-pivot rear sidepull brake! Going all Fred Flintstone Style would work better.

Right, ride what ya brung. Know how to maintain it, or know someone who does, and know how to operate it.

Regarding Record single-pivot side-pulls, I remember when they were a step up from the Universal 68s I had been using. We've come to expect so much from our equipment.